Costa Rica - Need suggestions
 

We are traveling to Costa Rica and need trip suggestions - Family of 4 with adventurous 8 and 12 year old boys. We are spending one week on the Windjammer Costa Rica cruise. We have another week to spend on the ground and are looking for suggestions. We will be traveling in August (hot, I know).

Thanks!

Id split the time between adventure/ relaxation.

See Arenal Volcano, dip in hot springs, stand at the bae of a waterfall- 3 nights in La Fortuna the nearest town to the volcano.

http://costa.rica.typepad.com/la_for...ome/index.html


Chill at the hillside beach resort of Manuel Antonio:

http://costa.rica.typepad.com/manuel...ome/index.html

Visit the National Park next to the main beach, see monkeys:

http://costa.rica.typepad.com/photos...e/monkeys.html

Spend time on Playa Manuel Antonio, the white coral inside the park.
Catch sunset at El Avion Bar a converted plane on the hill:

http://costa.rica.typepad.com/photos...sunsetjpg.html

August isnt the hottest month in Costa Rica, its middle of the rainy season.
Country is green all over!

I love Santa Teresa on the Nicoya Peninsula. There are plenty of things do while it still has the allure of seclusion. I would definitely recommend a day trip to Montezuma if you do go to Santa Teresa. Neat little town with a beautiful waterfall. It is not far from Santa Teresa. If your boys are interested in learning how to surf which I highly recommend while in Costa Rica, Playa Hermosa near Jaco is a must. Maria del Mar runs an extraordinary surf camp but also day lessons. She is a great teahcer. You can contact her at [email protected] Good luck and enjoy Costa Rica. It is amazing.

Where does the windjammer cruise? I think it is on the pacific side - in which case you will most likely stop on the Nicoya Peninsula and Manuel Antonio.

I would vote for 2-3 days rafting the Pacuare River. It is nice Class III+ rafting (consider in the top places to raft). You raft 1 day into the rainforest and spend 1 or 2 nights, then raft out. In August you are going during the "green" season (wet season) so you might as well embrace the experience and get wet. We did this in 1999 with Rios Tropicales (www.riostropicales.com) - they are still considered the best on the river. It is wild to raft in warm water. The place where you stay in the forest is a fabulous garden and as you can tell it is an experience I still rave about :)

Good luck!

Sorry I forgot to add - the rafting trip is based out of San Jose. They pick you up at your hotel and it's about an 1hr drive if I remember correctly (towards the Caribbean).

Thank you for all the suggestions. It's months away, but we are already excited for our trip.